Hispanos Unidos is back and fighting for reform | Albuquerque Journal

You need a photo ID for the bank, the airport, and a bar. Yet in New Mexico, you can participate in the cornerstone of our democracy just by saying your name and signing in! I fully support voter ID laws. Let’s do this!

I’m happy to give good news to New Mexicans – Hispanos Unidos is back! We never actually went away, but recently we reorganized and now there are more citizens than ever involved in our fight for election reform in New Mexico.For those who may be new to our state, the struggle began in 2008 when ACORN hit New Mexico and their employees (were charged with providing false information on voter registration forms to hit goals).Hispanos Unidos was formed, then-state Rep. Dianne Hamilton, R-Silver City, carried bills for election reform; we told the stories of disenfranchised voters, and by 2010 polls revealed that more than 80 percent of New Mexicans were in favor of photo ID requirements at the polls,

But opposition in Santa Fe was strong. Not only was all legislation carried by Rep. Hamilton, Rep. Cathrynn Brown, R-Carlsbad, and others killed in committee, new legislation calling for same-day registration and “automatic” voter registration were introduced, which would make cheating in New Mexico even easier.We worked hard to fight those bills, and none have actually become law.But our people came dangerously close to losing the few safeguards we have in ensuring any kind of fairness.

During the last 10 years, Hispanos Unidos has continued to provide training to poll workers who request it, helping them identify irregularities at the polls.We have engaged in data mining that has indicated suspiciously inconsistent turnout in several geographic regions of our state.Despite tepid attempts to purge the voter rolls, they are grotesquely swollen with outdated information. Additionally, nothing precludes thousands of non-existent people to be registered before any given election. It happens every two years